Carvana facility in Elyria Township could be 'substantially complete' next month

A $23 million, 200,000-square-foot Carvana facility is now "under roof" on 124 acres of the former Spiegelberg Orchards property in Elyria Township and could be "substantially complete" by next month, an Elyria Township official said Wednesday. Cars will be inspected, reconditioned and distributed out of the facility to buyers who seek them out online at Carvana.com. There won't be any sales on site. The facility is expected to employ 400 workers to start, with additional jobs and payroll possible in the future. Total payroll is estimated to be $13.3 million to start. Elyria Township Trustee Rick Hutman said Carvana has been "fantastic" to work with throughout the whole process, cooperating with township requests and working with the Elyria Township Fire Department on hydrant locations and its internal sprinkler systems. Asphalt is down in the parking lots and construction crews are focusing on the interior of the building now, he said. The company has been attentive to detail and "everything they said they would do, they've done. They haven't backtracked on anything," Hutman said. The project was announced in August 2019 following secret negotiations between Carvana, which is based in Arizona, and local and state officials. Lorain County and Ohio competed with communities in Indiana, Tennessee and Oklahoma for the project. The state has granted the company a 1.368 percent job creation tax credit lasting eight years, while the Ohio Department of Transportation, Lorain County, Elyria, Lorain and Elyria Township have entered into various infrastructure and economic development agreements to move the project along. Lorain is providing sewer service, and Elyria is providing the water utilities. The township, Elyria and Lorain worked out joint economic development district agreements, or JEDDs, to share the revenue from the project. For the first 400 jobs at the complex, Lorain will receive 75 percent of the income tax revenue, Elyria Township will get 15 percent and Elyria will receive the remaining 10 percent. An open house sneak peek of the operation is planned in the future once the project is mostly complete, Hutman said. "Between Lorain, Elyria and the county, everyone's cooperated and done whatever is necessary to bring it to fruition," he said. "That's been great to see that cooperation." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him @daveobrienCT on Twitter. Watch a drone video of the Carvana construction at www.youtube.com/watch?v=kokb9xbnlXM.